World

Gates Endorses Pause In Troop Drawdown

February 11, 2008 / 3:30 AM EST / CBS/AP

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed, for the first time, the idea of pausing the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq this summer.

"A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense," Gates told reporters after meeting with Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. Petraeus has indicated in recent weeks that he wants a "period of evaluation" this summer to assess the impact on Iraq security of reducing the U.S. military presence from 20 brigades to 15 brigades.

Of that five-brigade reduction, only one has departed thus far. The last of the five is to be gone by the end of July.

In his remarks at this U.S. base in southern Baghdad, Gates said Petraeus had given him his view on the drawdown, which some fear could result in giving up some of the security gains of recent months.

In endorsing Petraeus' suggestion of pausing after July, Gates made it clear that President Bush would have the final say. Until now it had been unclear how Gates felt about the idea of a pause; he had said publicly a number of times that he hoped conditions in Iraq would permit a continuation of the drawdown in the second half of the year.

In his remarks here, Gates indicated that he had begun some time ago to lean in Petraeus' direction.

"In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," Gates said. "But one of the keys is how long is that period (of pause and evaluation) and then what happens after that."

Despite dramatic declines in violence in recent months, the security situation in Iraq is tenuous, Gates said earlier Monday at an awards ceremony for Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq.

"Levels of violence of all kinds (are) dramatically reduced," Gates said. "The situation in Iraq continues to remain fragile, but the Iraqi people now have an opportunity to forge a better, more secure, more prosperous future."

Gates' visit to Iraq came as car bombs and gunmen struck new U.S. allies, police and civilians in northern Iraq, killing as many as 53 people on a deadly Sunday.

The deadliest bombing was near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, at a checkpoint manned jointly by Iraqi police and members of a Sunni awakening group.

Iraqi police said a suicide truck bomber targeted a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied fighters and Iraqi police at the entrance of a bridge in the district of Yathrib on the outskirts of Balad. Security forces opened fire on the driver, but he managed to detonate his payload, devastating a nearby car market and other stores.

Police in the joint coordination center of the surrounding Salahuddin province and hospital officials said 34 people were killed and 37 others were wounded. Capt. Kadim Hamid said many residents in the predominantly Sunni area had removed victims directly from the site because they feared going to the hospital in Balad's mostly Shiite center.

In all, 70 people were reported killed or found dead by police on Sunday, one of the highest nationwide death tolls in recent months. That figure included three policemen who perished in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in the Anbar city of Fallujah and 10 bullet-riddled bodies showing signs of torture.

Odierno is departing after 15 months in charge of the headquarters that carries out Petraeus' strategy on a day-to-day basis. Odierno is returning to Washington and has been nominated by Bush for promotion to four-star rank and assignment as Army vice chief of staff.

On Sunday, Gates said Iraq's political leaders face hard choices on how to stabilize the country despite promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation.

"They seem to have become energized over the last few weeks," Gates said. The Pentagon chief told reporters who traveled with him from a conference in Germany that he wants to "see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months."

In related developments:

Two journalists working for CBS News in Basra are missing and efforts are underway to find them. A statement released by the network said CBS News has been in touch with the families and asked that their privacy be respected.

Twin car bombs targeted a meeting of Sunni tribal leaders Monday, killing as many as 22 people in the latest attack against U.S. allies who have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq. The attackers managed to penetrate heavy security to leave bomb-rigged cars near a Baghdad compound hosting chieftains from the western Anbar province, where the so-called Awakening Council movement against al-Qaida emerged last year. The blasts were also near the offices of one of Iraq's most powerful Shiite politicians, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. But Iraqi authorities said the apparent target was the Sunni tribal heads.

U.S. soldiers captured a suspected Shiite militia commander and one other suspect Monday in raids south of Baghdad, the military said. The main suspect is believed to be in charge of "special groups criminal elements" in the Iraqi provinces of Wasit, Babil and Najaf, the U.S. military said in a statement. "Special groups" is language the military uses to describe Shiite Muslim militias allegedly backed by Iran. The U.S. says the groups have broken ranks with Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. The radical cleric in August called a six-month cease-fire, which is due to expire later this month.